Yeah, I know it's only been a couple of hours since the final whistle on this season, and half of us are in a drunken fog, while the rest of us are split between outright indignant rage, and shoulder shrugging apathy that is relieved that there will finally be change.....but since I'm up waiting for laundry to finish I figured I may as well start this thread now since it was coming soon anyhow.

Oh, and for the record, I'm in the latter category.....looking forward to change.

We know that there are going to be a plethora of amnesty buyouts in just a couple of months, we know that July 1st will see the start contracts being signed and free-agents getting scooped up left and right. We also know who those free agents will be.....so the big question is what free agents would you like to see Gillis go after?

For me I'm taking a look at a few.....

Top 6

Ryder, Iginla, and Horton, are the forwards I hope he considers, if they don't re-up with their current teams.

Iginla. Here's a never quit winger who is a right-handed shot and a proven leader. He knows what it takes to compete and absolutely lives for the post-season. He can probably be signed for between $4.5M-$5.5M and since he is a step slower than he was 3 seasons ago, he would be a perfect fit with the Sedins, who in all likelihood will be making up 2 of our top 6.

Horton is a crash and bang winger who goes to the dirty areas and scores most of his goals from within 10 feet of the net. He's had a history of concussion problems and that is a concern. Might be worth the risk on a new look Canucks that must know by now that it takes some nastiness and willingness to play physical to win beyond the regular season.

Ryder quietly gets it done. I'll be surprised if Montreal doesn't offer him a new contract, but if they don't I think he's a guy that will sign for around $4M. Some of these guys might come cheaper on shorter deals given the salary cap rollback that is going to hit come September. I look at him as a more consistent, and slightly upgraded version, of Chris Higgins. Regardless of "bad form" when it comes to trading players you just signed, I would look to trade Higgins this off-season.

I would also consider Simon Gagne. He might have one last gasp left in him, his lower production and injury problems might make him a cheap addition. Not suggesting you go after him in a bidding war though.

Andy McDonald is also a guy that brings speed and skill and a wicked wrist shot. He's 35 years old, and may or may not be worth looking at.....just depends who departs this summer.

Bottom 6

Torres is at the top of the list when it comes to the bottom 6. He makes an OUTSTANDING fourth line winger, and is even very serviceable on a third line whose role is to go out and generate energy, forecheck hard, and hit everything that moves.

Viktor Stalberg would be a great steal if Chicago doesn't keep him. Not sure a UFA from Chicago would want to sign in Vancouver though.....but hey, if the team gets restructured then some of that rivalry will die with the departures of key players and coaching. Getting swept already drops the Canucks out of the Hawks league.

Ryan Clowe. Would be more than happy to see him come to Vancouver. It's unlikely. But would still take him.

The Blueline

There aren't too many top 4 defensemen who are going to be available, at least none who won't be looking to cash in on 4+ year deals to finish out their careers. But in the 5-7 spots there are some bodies worth having.....

Douglas Murray plays a mean game and is big and strong and willing to clear the crease. Not giving him his current salary.

Robyn Regehr will be looking for a new contract, and let's be honest, he's going to be trading on his name and previous body of work, not what he'll bring. He's 33 years old, looks slow, but can play some hard minutes in his own end and make life very difficult for net crashing forwards.

Alberts. Yes, Andrew Fucking Alberts. The guy has really impressed as the 7th man down the stretch. Since drawing in for Tanev and Ballard he has played smarter hockey and he hits to fucking maim. He's a 6-7 guy, but if he's making $1M or less then he's definitely worth re-signing.

Take A Pass

Pascal Dupuis. He's going to want a raise! 20 goals, 38 points, and only making $1.3M. But he's 34 years old and caught a ride on the Crosby train this year. There is no way he repeats that unless he's playing with Sid and/or Malkin again. Also small.

Patrik Elias. Old and soft. Still producing points, but not what we need.

Matt Cullen. I don't think I need to explain.

Mike Ribeiro. I doubt I could stomach watching this team with him on the roster. I'm hoping we let Lapierre go because I think this team has suffered from the combined reputations of him, Burrows, and Kesler. Bur and Kes have cleaned up their games and I think have just been doing a bit of time for the last couple of seasons, they should be paroled after this year. Lap has smartened up a bit, but he's now less effective than before, and he's still a pain in the ass who just tries to stir shit up. He also loves to sell a call. Ribeiro is in the same boat as him that way.

There really isn't much out there. Probably best to acquire depth players like Ryan Jones.

Of the big names, I'd take a run at Tyler Bozak. I think he would be an ideal 3rd line center on this team. He's a solid #2 center in the league who is good on the draw. I think he has really rounded out his defensive game and can now legitimately handle checking line duties. With Kesler having missed so many games over the years, a guy who can slide into Kesler's spot and anchor the 3rd line when Kesler is healthy is a priority. Alternatively, I would look at Filppula for the right price. He's another guy who can fill the 3rd line center role, slide into Kesler's spot, or move to the wing.

Nathan Horton would be an intriguing pickup. Is he worth the risk? Do we want to add another former Panther? With his concussion issues, I bet he looks for security. Somebody will throw money and maybe a 6 year deal at him. Say we were able to get him for 3-4 years at David Booth's salary... I would still be on the fence on this one. If he doesn't have chemistry with Sedins or Kesler, he'll be one frustrating player to watch.

Iginla. At the right price, I think he can still be an offensive specialist. A guy who can still be a playmaker and sniper. Just not a guy who can regularly create offense. He does want to win a Cup and I'm not sure he'll view us as Cup contenders.

The only guy from the list above I'd be that interested in is probably Stalberg. He's 27, right age, he could be a good addition. Otherwise, nothing I see of great interest. Horton is on again off again with concussions, too risky

Yeah, it's tough to speculate - the Canucks are going to have to make several major moves to give them enough wiggle room to play the UFA game this year, and those moves might change the look of the roster enough that it's hard to speculate whether we'll need a top nine winger, a top line scorer, another center, a top four defenseman, a steady bottom pairing guy.. who knows.

If you can get him I think Stalberg makes a lot of sense but I'm sure lots of other teams feel the same way. Other younger players I'd consider depending on the price would be Bickell, Filppula and Clarkson.. of course there's lots of reason to believe their current teams will be able to get a deal done.

Horton is interesting but is he enough of an asshole without Milan, Zdeno, Shawn et al backing him up? And of course there's the concern that he spends a large amount of a 4-5 year term sitting in a darkened room somewhere..

On defense the pickings are slim, there might be a good bottom pair option out there if we need one but I don't see a big, mobile guy with a mean streak who can play the right side or any other exact fits for that matter.

I hope we put the screws to St. Louis. Offersheet Alex Pietrangelo, and when they match send another offersheet to Kevin Shattenkirk. They'll likely be at the cap max after matching PIetrangelo that they wouldn't be able to match Shattenkirk's offersheet (unless they clear more cap space by not re-upping Stewart and/or Berglund).

This would be an excellent time to go heavy into the FA market, because the lowered cap will have a huge deflationary effect on this year's FAs (like Pronger signing in EDM for $6.25 mil after the last cap shock).

Unfortunately that is a brutal FA class. I think Gillis will have to trade for expiring RFAs, but I don't expect an impact player to be added this offseason.

I always like having a rock solid 3rd and 4th lines, so with that I'd trade Lalongo for Matthias, Parros and a 2nd.

Then sign Torres and Adams.

Torres is the perfect 3rd line winger.

Adams is a bit more defensively skilled than Lappy, and has cup experience, plus will be a bit cheaper, *ninja edit* Adams can play all three forward positions, so re-sign Lappy as well!

Parros would be here for those 45-50 games in the regular season where we need that big bruiser, it always feels safer having a bonafide tough guy, like when we had Gino or Brash for those rough and tough games. He also has cup experience.

Yeah, Horton would be great, but he would probably command too much. With only 1 year left on the sedins, I wouldn't mind making a 1 or 2 year offer to Jagr. Sure, he probably lost a step, but he's big and hard to knock off the puck, still a great passer and has a great shot, he might be a great winger for the Sedins and maybe even Kes. He was drafted here, why not end his career here? We got old man Mats, why not get old man Jaromir as well? We always hear what a great influence Mats was to Kes, maybe Jags can become a great influence to our next generation of forwards like Kass, Jensen, Gaunce and Schroeder. Also, wouldn't mind letting MayRay walk and using that money on Torres.

On D, Regher would be nice, but I wouldn't mind Mark Fistric too. The former Giant captain is big and is a bit of a physical player. Still pretty young at just 27 and just getting into his prime years.

Wow. Reading through the suggestions, I can't help but think we'd become Calgary 2.0 with some of these additions! When the focal point of change seems to centre around the need to get younger, how does adding 35+ players help?

If anything it's just testament to the fact that Gillis will have to be creative if he wants to improve this team. I know the UFA market is not what it once was in the pre-cap era but that UFA class is brutal!

Very interested to see what happens at the draft this year. As much attention as Gillis has received over the past year, this will truly mark the first offseason where he will have the opportunity to make his mark in the opportunity (assuming he doesn't get fired of course!)

Well, if Gillis wants a free agent, he ain't going to be a very expensive one. Gillis needs to trim the fat like Nonis did with Connolly and Lombardi as soon as he was handed the keys in Toronto. Or like what Wilson did with Handzus, Murray and Clowe.

To me it's not about signing free agents, it's about getting rid of some of the shite on the team, i.e., Booth, Ballard, Raymond, Lappiere, Sestito, Pinnizotto, Ebbett, Alberts

"I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? - Plastics." - The Graduate

RoyalDude wrote:Well, if Gillis wants a free agent, he ain't going to be a very expensive one. Gillis needs to trim the fat like Nonis did with Connolly and Lombardi as soon as he was handed the keys in Toronto. Or like what Wilson did with Handzus, Murray and Clowe.

To me it's not about signing free agents, it's about getting rid of some of the shite on the team, i.e., Booth, Ballard, Raymond, Lappiere, Sestito, Pinnizotto, Ebbett, Alberts

I don't think any of the guys you listed will be back, maaaaaybe Booth if Gillis can't get the cash from ownership to buy him out, but the rest are goners IMHO.

I'd like to see a guy like Travis Moen or some other gritty vet who can be a 3rd or 4th line leader. I'd like to see one more top 6 forward brought in. I'd like to see a good sized 3rd line center who is a dedicated checker. Not sure much will happen on D given the contracts that are in place, but perhaps there's some room for creativity there.

Gllis needs to make 3 or 4 chanes to the roster up front because what's there right now is not good enough. I don't envy his position this summer.